Speedway clears the final hurdle

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CROWN POINT — Because city officials want Superior Drive to be a city street running north and south through the subdivision where Speedway is building a gas station, the property, at Broadway and North Street, now has three front yards.

This is what brought Troy Triphahn, Speedway vice president of corporate design and development, and Tony Jaynes of Speedway before the Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 23.

The company was requesting a variance to be able to build 17.5 feet into the front yard setback on Superior Drive. This would allow for a drive lane around the parking area.

Because this is also a front yard the required setback is 35 feet.

The variance request was granted. The Speedway will be built on the southwest corner of North Street and Broadway. With all the work required in both design and materials to meet the “Williamsburg” design idea, this will not be a typical Speedway gas station. It will fit in with the rest of the newer buildings along Broadway.

Triphahn told the BZA that if that west side of the property had been considered a back yard, as it originally was, their variance request would not have been necessary.

The lot is big enough to meet the setback requirements, but Speedway had already provided for a greater than 35-foot setback on Broadway to allow room for all the city required plantings of trees and bushes, their sign, and the right-in and right-out driveway on Broadway.

That also kept the right in right out driveway on North Street to be further away from the intersection at Broadway. The drive lane needs to be that wide to accommodate the delivery trucks for fuel and other products.

Triphahn explained that they were providing 44 percent of their land with landscaping. That is far above the required amount. Speedway had received approval from the Plan Commission on Jan. 9 and the Tree Board on the 18th. This is the last step in their quest to start construction.

Speedway is set to get the station up and running sometime this summer, according to Jaynes.